Does anyone do their own oil changes even though your Forester is still under full factory or extended warranty? I am seriously considering this (I do keep the bills for the oil & filters I use for our Foresters) but am worried without any bill that states the date of the oil changes & (knock on wood) I should have a problem that the dealership can deny a warranty claim. Thoughts & opinions are appreciated.

I ask because my wife's 03 FXS is almost at the 60k mile (100k KM) mark & I will be doing the oil changes on her's from here on in......this saves me significant time & money, plus I enjoy changing my own oil anyway.

You can see all upcoming needed/routine services and can log it all in. I have done every single oil change on my car since getting it. When it was in warranty and now that it is not. You will not have any problems and they can't deny you warranty coverage b/c you change your oil and oil filter yourself as long as you keep a record of it...and that it was done at the correct intervals.

Also, you should talk to ROO about getting a fumoto oil drain valve...it will make life a lot easier when changing the oil and you will never need to buy another stupid crush washer again.

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I've never not changed my own oil in all the new cars I've owned. Unless they give you the stuff free and you document the changes in a book or something, they can not deny anything. I've had my record book photo copied for repairs in the past. That was for a turbo failure on a different car (ford)

I've done my own oil since 1973.....that includes a Chevy Vega (I was young and stupid, now I'm old and not THAT stupid), a series of Hondas (1977, 1983 and 1990 Accords, 1992 Civic and a 1998 CRV) and the Subie.....ditto the suggestion to get a Fumoto oil valve........makes life SO MUCH easier.

Takes me 10 minutes to dump the oil and filter myself. Biggest trick is to capture the old oil that spills out from around the filter base when you unscrew it. I've tried using a plastic bag around it but some invariably spills out anyway.

Moving my intervals from 3-4000 miles to 6000 miles based on other Forum members' suggestion. My driving is all 60 MPH commutes so the load on the drivetrain is nil.

Chevy Vega, only car I've ever seen not run if the oil gets low. Somehow it's set up to run the fuel pump off of the oil pressure. Not a bad idea if you think about it.

I worked on many of them, when in high school and college working at a service station. They were one of the few cars at that time with an electric fuel pump. That was to prevent too much fuel pressure or a possible fire. Good idea if you think of it. It had a delay relay start the pump for 5 secs until the engine started so there would be fuel. Another thing they had a Clutch safety switch which was also not common then. AND the starter relay was hooked to that oil pressure switch also so you couldn't GRIND the starter while the engine was running.
DOWN SIDE..not knowing about these made a defective oil switch a tough no start / run condition to diagnose.

On the subject of this thread, I can't tell you the last time someone, other than me, change the oil or did repairs on any vehicle we owned since the last 60's. ( Except body work from accidents )

I guess it's time to come out of the closet: I also am a former Vega owner (In fact I owned 2!)

Just did the first oil change on my new 06FX. A word of caution to new Subie oil changers, make sure you have the proper oil filter wrench!!! My previous cars all had bigger filters, nothing I had worked on the Forester, so I changed oil and left the filter on. There is no room around the filter for trying different apparati and they put stuff on very tight at the factory.

I'll be doing another oil change tomorrow after I buy a filter wrench!

Just did the first oil change on my new 06FX. A word of caution to new Subie oil changers, make sure you have the proper oil filter wrench!!! My previous cars all had bigger filters, nothing I had worked on the Forester, so I changed oil and left the filter on. There is no room around the filter for trying different apparati and they put stuff on very tight at the factory.

I'll be doing another oil change tomorrow after I buy a filter wrench!

Hand-tightening works just fine, then you don't need to pry it loose with an oil filter wrench next time around!

Ah, the memories!!
I had a 74 dark green wagon and a lime green 74 Pontiac Astre GT coupe. I drove the Vega wagon for about 3 years, it had about 100,000 miles on it and burned a quart of oil for each tank of gas, but the valves were shot, not the pistons or block.
The Vega block ended up in the Astre with the Astre cyclinder head,ran pretty good for the short time I had it (sold it while it still looked and ran good)
The 74 Vega had less ground clearance than my friend's 1964 Corvette, and combined with rear wheel drive made walking a viable alternative during snow storms.

Doing yourself is almost always better.
Jiffy Lube and other 10 minut places are BS.
They dont give enough time for old oil to come out before they put the new one in.
Doing it at home - you got more time!